Love is Not This
by MayaWolf
Summary: Rory had truly thought she was in love. It took someone else to show her what being in love meant. Exploring some observations in a collection of oneshots. Literati.
1. Love is Not This

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone mentioned. Although I wish I did...**

She'd honestly thought she was in love.

There had been nothing to compare it to. She'd never been in love. Of course, she was no stranger to the idea. Undeniably, love was a recurring theme in the many novels she read. They had taught her the words that were appropriate for such a feeling. "Love" was synonymous with "comfort" and "stability". She knew all of the signs to look for. When she compared her relationship with Dean to that of her fictional heroines, she had taken the similarities as her cue.

Obviously, she liked the guy. She enjoyed his company, and they spent all of their free time together. They got along well, just as he did with the rest of her family. Most notably, he took care of her. He had all of the stereotypical qualities that the girls in the books had pined for. There was no doubt to her then. This must be love.

Until everything she thought she knew was blown out of the water. Until _he_ showed up.

The instant her eyes rested on Jess for the first time, she'd felt a twang of guilt. There was an immediate attraction; a spark that flickered so brightly she was momentarily blinded. She quickly muffled it. _I'm with Dean,_ she'd reminded herself. _I can't be looking at other guys. _Then the smirk, the sarcasm... The rebel within him revealed itself. Instead of repelled, she was intrigued. It was only the beginning.

The more time she spent with him, the more entranced she became. He was unpredictable, flittering from one thing to the next without warning. The excitement he stirred within her was otherworldly. He was everything she had never thought she would want, and at the same time he was her dream. His love of books, his fast wit, and his inability to take anything serious were things that she suddenly yearned for Dean to have. The contrast was almost unbearable. The better she got to know Jess, the more boring, and just outright annoying, Dean became.

All at once, she realized that she'd misidentified love. Now, there was something to compare it to.

Dean was comfortable. Easy. It was so simple she hated to question it. Yet there was nothing there. She felt no desire. There was no burning flame. She'd never known it was missing. Jess, however... Her heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name. He was on her mind every moment of every day. She would have done anything for him, done anything to be near him. The passion that had spontaneously bubbled up inside of her was something she had never known. It was something she couldn't stand the thought of sacrificing.

Now Rory knew what falling in love felt like. And she was falling hard.


	2. Can't Have Your Man and Keep Him Too

**Thanks so much for the positive reviews! I wasn't planning on continuing this, but I've had many "observations" floating around in my head. This short snippet is one of them. **

**I still have no ownership of any of the lovely personalities I'm attempting to recreate. **

There weren't many things that Lorelai Gilmore kept from her daughter. This was a rare exception. It wasn't exactly a complete exception, either. She had told Rory she didn't like Jess. That was true. She'd also told her she'd known guys like him before; that guys like Jess were dangerous. That was true, too. No outright lies. No harm done. What Lorelai had always neglected to share was who, exactly, Jess reminded her of.

To Lorelai, Jess was a blast from the past. Every moment with that boy that she'd heard her daughter describe left her with an endless feeling of déjà vu. Rory was convinced that her mother would never understand Jess, and she told her so often. Lorelai would shake her head because, honestly, the girl couldn't have been more wrong.

The fact of the matter was that Lorelai knew Jess all too well. She knew how attractive his "I could care less what the world things" attitude was. She knew Rory meant when she would say, "he just gets me." She knew how wonderful it made her daughter feel knowing that there was that one person in the world who would do anything for her.

All of this was familiar to Lorelai because she had had her own Jess. She'd found her perfect match, the one who was always there for her. The reason that she hated Jess was because she knew the outcome of his and Rory's relationship. Everytime he broke Rory, she saw the face of someone else. Every time Rory broke him, she saw her own face. They were forbidden to each other. It was the universe'own sick game, bringing them together and throwing them apart like that. The two lovers never got their timing right, and they never would. Jess would never be ready for Rory, and she would never be ready for him.

It was no question to Lorelai that Rory had probably figured this out by now. She was a smart kid, that Rory. There was no use telling her, mostly because Lorelai had never taken that message herself particularly well. Just like Rory, she always hoped. This very second, she was still hoping. There were times when Lorelai though discussing the issue, in it's entirety, might bring them closer together. It might even help Rory deal with the reality. Maybe it would help herself, too. In the end, she never did. She knew she never would. It hurt too much.

Lorelai was Jess' greatest cheerleader, although no one would ever believe it. If Jess could just get it together, if he and Rory could make it work, maybe there was a chance for her too. Maybe she and Rory could both have their Prince Charming.

Maybe Lorelai could have Christopher.


	3. Sherlock Holmes Has Nothin on You

**This is my first story-like piece. After watching "One's Got Class and the Other One Dyes", I couldn't help but wonder what happened after Lane and Rory walked by. You just _know_ Jess must have said something. Here's my best guess as to what might have occurred...**

**Disclaimer: As much as I wish I owned Jess, alas, I do not. Or any other characters, for that matter. **

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"That girl's a freak." Shane asserted in the way that only a preppy blond girl can. Rory and Lane had just waked by. It was obvious that Shane had meant the former. Jess couldn't help but smirk.

"Huh. Why's that?" He asked, trying to seem only vaguely interested. In truth, he was desperately engaged, as he always was when something dealt with Rory.

"She came into the beauty shop twice today. The first time she bought purple hair dye. Purple! Who dyes their hair purple? I wouldn't be caught dead. Everyone knows..." the Blond Bimbo, as Jess had privately nick-named her, began to ramble on about some trivial fashion bit. He sensed he was losing her and tried to steer the conversation back to Rory.

"So she's a freak because she bought purple hair dye?" He prompted. While he was slightly curious about the purchase, it was going to be quite a let down if that was all it took to gain "freak" status in this town.

"Well duh." Shane said, rolling her eyes and popping her gum at the same time. Who said blonds can't multitask? "But that's not all. While she was buying it she just kept staring at me with this annoyed look on her face. Then she asked if she could get her money back if her Asian friend-"

"She's Korean." Jess interjected.

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, she asked if they'd get their money back if the hair dye made the _Korean_ girl's hair fall out. Everyone knows that doesn't happen." Jess had to stifle a laugh here, remembering a time when he was younger and Liz had tried to dye her hair. It _had_ fallen out, and it was pretty dang funny. Shane glared at him.

"Sorry, just a memory. Continue." He didn't even make an attempt at sounding sincere.

"Then a couple hours later, she ran back in and wanted to buy black hair dye. Actually, that's when I was on the phone with you. She rudely interrupted me and started giving a lecturing on how I was doing my job. Then she accused me of thinking the way ice was made was interesting!" This had obviously been quite the insult to her, as she ended with a large wave of her hands and her voice about three registers higher then normal.

Jess bursted out laughing, both at Shane's sheer absurdity and Rory's insult. He couldn't help but whole-heartedly agree with her.

"What?" Shane shouted, hands stereotypically placed on her hips.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all." He was pretending to be serious. "I just remembered, I have to go help Luke with something. Musn't keep Uncle waiting." Jess' voice dripped with sarcasm. He turned on his heel, making his way back toward the diner.

Yet the diner was not where he went. Instead, he went straight to his bridge. His and Rory's bridge, as he had begun thinking of it. He sat, staring out at the water. His mind wandered. There was something about Rory that made Jess dissect every detail. Something inside of him had to know what she was thinking and why she did the things she did. It was something he'd never admit, but he knew he probably thought too hard about her motives. She'd be impressed with all of the possibilities he could come up with, he thought.

Today, there was only one possibility. Jess could only think of one reason why Rory would be so critical to someone she'd never met. Sweet Rory, who couldn't hurt a fly. Until today, he honestly hadn't thought she had a rude bone in her body. Yes, only one explanation, and it made Jess ecstatic. His plan was working. An actual smile found it's way onto his face, where it remained as he pulled a book out of his back pocket and began to read.


End file.
